Two Months to Go!

Friends! Today is February 17th, which means we are exactly TWO MONTHS away from release day!

The biggest news: I have a cover!! I can’t release it quite yet, but the image at the top of this post gives a BUNCH of hints about the aesthetic 😉

I had been waiting anxiously for what feels like forever. I was so excited to finalize a cover, but I was also super nervous. Over a year ago, when I signed my contract, I filled out a questionnaire for the publisher, and it included questions about the type of design I imagined for my cover. Several months ago I put together a Pinterest board of covers I loved, and I made sure the design team had access to that, too. But I remained SO nervous. What if a cover was designed, and I hated it? What if I wasn’t proud of the book? What if it was so ugly that I was too embarrassed to show it to people?

As the days have passed and release day has loomed larger, I worried that it was getting too late in the game. If I hated the cover, there wouldn’t be time to fix it.

ALL THE ANXIETY. (And so unnecessary. ha!)

The nervousness disappeared as soon as I opened that magical email about one week ago. I didn’t take in any of the words and went straight to the bottom, opening the attached file.

My heart thudded and I had to blink back tears. There it was. And it was BEAUTIFUL. A gorgeous design, full of symbolism. The designer had clearly read the story closely. Everything on the cover has meaning. Even the chosen colors are important to the story, although readers won’t understand until they finish the book.

The designer and I have emailed back and forth a few times. Huge bummer: I had to ask her to remove one of the symbols she included because it was a spoiler for a major plot line. I also asked for some small changes to my bio, like adding that Anderson University is in Indiana. I went on to explain that there are multiple Anderson Universities, and I wanted to indicate the right one. HILARIOUSLY ENOUGH, she told me she attended the Anderson University in South Carolina. HA!

She has sent me a few more versions, and I am SO pleased with the final draft. I’m so excited to reveal it to you! I will as soon as possible.

Along with cover design, the inside of the book has also been designed. I have a copy of that as well, and it is CRAZY to see my words on each of the 295 pages.

Big stuff coming up:

• Cover reveal as soon as I can share it with you
• TOMORROW: Interview with Jenna Van Mourik! Check my social media pages tomorrow for links and announcements
• Preorder swag giveaways! Stay tuned for details
• Launch team recruitment (about one month before release)
• April 17th – Release Day
• April 24th – Launch Party @ Anderson University’s Nicholson Library!